Issue with Potential Log Home Purchase

I am looking at purchasing a 3300sq ft log home in NC and noticed a portion of the rear wall of the house is bowing where they installed a bay window. The house is listed for about 80k less than appraisal but will the bow in the wall get worse, should it be fixed, any idea how much to fix something like that? Wondering if I should make an offer, or just walk away from it.

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I'd have a log home restoration pro take a look at it before you buy. A typical home inspector is not familiar with the special needs of log homes. The bowing may be fixable, but how much it will cost is what you'll want to know. You'll also want to know if there are any areas of rot that need to be fixed, what type of finishing work (if any) needs to be done, etc.

Thanks, Charis! I have already called a few companies in the NC area that specialize in this sort of thing, but figured I would see if anyone else has had any experience with it while I'm waiting. It doesn't look like it effected the roof life any - just shows where the cabinet is an inch out from the wall at the bottom. It must have been that way for awhile because they put caulking in the gap that doesn't show any additional separation.

I've seen bowing in logs under windows before. There have been a number of reasons, some pretty bad (severely rotted logs that needed to be replaced....thousands of $$$!), another was just bad log siding under a heavy window. Also needed replacing, but log siding replacement is often cheaper than replacing full round logs.

Those pros you contacted will be able to help you figure out the cause of the bowing, plus give insight into any other major restoration work that might be necessary.

The home looks nice in the photo, although I can't see any bowing. 1" doesn't sound abnormal for settling of a log home. I'd say make an offer! At worst pound in a few shims to lift that bowing and chink over that and forget about it for another decade or two.

Thanks Thomas. How can you tell if this is something simple compared to something serious that would cause structural issues? It seems to be since the wall is bowing by the bay window, that area would need to be reinforced - is that right?

I can tell it's nothing major because of your 1" measurement. I can tell it's not structural because the home is standing. I would recommend focusing on the cost of wood preparation, staining, and chinking which does appear to be needed.

I guess I should have said "how can I tell" but either way you answered the question. So simple put, just because a wall is bowing it doesn't necessarily mean it needs repaired etc? The foundation of the house is block and shows no settling, cracking etc that would be pretty obvious to notice I would think.

The bowing isn't really all that noticeable unless you look at the kitchen cabinet on the inside. The logs aren't rotted, soft etc - they look like new. I am wondering if they built this while the logs were wet and when it dried this was the result. I dont mind putting 10k or so back into the house to fix the bowing wall, but want to make sure this would be something they could repair, or if repair is even needed. The roof like shows no signs of drooping etc, it looks straight. The house is in Hurdle Mills, NC.

Small world. I have an experienced Log crew I've worked with for 20 years based in Hurdle Mills. Travels the country for me doing shells and is also a general contractor. This isn't one of our homes, but diagnosing and fixing will be no problem. My guys might be interested in working closer to home. Send me your contact info at cwood@hearthstonehomes.com